Transition to adulthood: supporting young adults to access social, employment, and civic pursuits

"Transition support" is a concept new to the field of secondary transition. This paper describes the development of a model of transition support as derived from the empirical literature (Hughes and Carter. [2000] The Transition Handbook. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes). The components of the Transition Support Model are both empirically based and field-tested among practitioners. The over 500 transition support strategies that compose the model have been used by practitioners in the field to improve educational and postschool outcomes for high school students. These strategies are grouped according to two main goals (i.e., "developing support in the environment" and "increasing students' competence") and corresponding components. Literature supporting the Transition Support Model is described as well as the use of the model in the transition planning process. Suggestions are made for application of transition support in high schools and the need for future research. MRDD Research Reviews 7:84-90, 2001. (c) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.